said i will not reopen negotiations until the house follows through and passes an agreement negotiated by republican leaders. so senate democratic leaders are not inclined to continue negotiations until the line on this two-month extension. >> that is it for me. i'm brooke baldwin here at cnn headquarters. wolf blitzer in "the situation room" starts now. >> thank you, brooke. kim jong il is dead. i was in north korea a year ago at this time. i can share what you i saw. what it might tell us about what happened, next. a whole new lineup in the race for the republican presidential nomination. so much changed within the matter after few days. we will talk about it with one of the candidates this hour, jon huntsman. plus, judges arrested,

hauled before congress and impeached. newt gingrich outlines his solution to so-called activists and ignites a huge controversy. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in the situation room. it's a rogue isolated nation on earth. now the state is in transition now with the death of their leader, kim jong il. a tearful woman announced the news on state television saying kim jong il died suddenly of heart attack at age 69.

>> north korea is built on a cult of personality surrounding the kim dynasty and word of his death sparked near hisser toa on streets with people wailing and weeping openly. kim's death has huge implications. not only for the north and south korea, but for the united states and the entire world. following developments from seoul, south cree korea, what is the latest reaction there, anna?

>> wolf, as you say, a great deal of uncertainty with the death of kim jong il but perhaps of an insight into what he was thinking in the weeks and days leading up to his death. can confirm, wolf, that u.s. officials were meant it meet with north korean counter parts monday. with this meeting, there was supposed to be an announcement from the u.s. that it was going to give a large food donation in ex change for north korea suspending its uranium enrichment program. this was going to be a precursor to six-party talks. of course north korea was then going to allow international inspectors. any other date of week, wolf, this would be huge news. but of course kim jong il has died and this has left talks, i guess in disarray. the u.s. state department says the plan perhaps is now in jeopardy, is up to north korea as how it wants to proceed and that the ball is in their court. but for now, the u.s. will

respect this mourning period and see how things proceed. wolf? >> south korea's military, they have gone on a higher state of alert right now. what are they expecting from north korea? >> well, their president held a national council security meeting right after the news of kim jong il's death. they were placed on high alert. there is the dmz, about an hour and a half drive where fr where we are here in seoul, the border between north and south korea, some 28,000 u.s. troops are there with south korean troops as well. really, securing their positions. so the moment, all eyes are on that region to make sure that everything remains stable. that of course, is what south korea wants. they want the situation to remain stable, wolf? >> and anna coren in seoul,

south korea. with some 30,000 american troops along the dmz, american military commanders say they are vigilant in monitoring north korea right now. along with barbara starr, the joint cheer's chairman says bluntly, he is worried. joining us from germany where she is traveling with joint chiefs chairman dempsey, so what did the general tell you, barbara? >> well, wolf, we are part after very small group of reporters traveling with dempsey. cnn, the only american network with him on the way from afghanistan and iraq. stopping here from germfully, general dempsey woken up by developments and he met with us. he is talking about the concerns of about remaining vigilant, making sure that north korea makes no moves with its troops, weapons, equipment. and the bottom line of course, is will son, kim jong il be able

to take over and exert north korean reregime. i want you to listen to what he had to say. >> it is my expectation, that will be the successor. we do have -- we have a significant amount of work to try to understand him. and i would only say at this point that he is young to be placed in this position. and we will have to see whether in fact it is him and how he reacts to the burden of governance that he hasn't had the, you know, he hasn't had to deal with before. so i don't know, barbara. >> you worry about it. >> well, look, i worry about transitions every place. i'm worried about a trance nation north korea. i'm worried about a transition in syria. i'm worried about continuing transitions in egypt. yes. >> and this really underscores

what -- this underscores what dempsey and other military officials are worried about. instability in north korea and in particular not at all sure that son really will be the long-term leader of the north korean regime right now. who the other plays are, one key intelligence indicator, of the lack of information that u.s. has, officials confirming, u.s. military officials confirming that kim jong il died saturday night and they did not know it until nearly 24 hours later when north korean television announced it. a real indicator of the lack of intelligence, the lack of information that the u.s. government and u.s. intelligence community has about this very remote country, wolf. >> we know the south korean military, barbara, has gone on a higher state alert. what about the u.s. military, whether ground forces in south korea or navy at sea, air force, what is the latest on that? >> right. well, when dempsey was woken up

overnight web join an inner agency phone call and spoke with a top u.s. military officer in south korea. right now, no need to put u.s. forces there on any state of higher alert. what they are looking at is whether they have all of the intelligence assets they need. satellites, eavesdropping, electronic intelligence gathering gear, put an eye on the peninsula and know instantly if north korea makes moves with its forces or weapons systems, if they go on the move. right now, all signs is that they are staying put and that's what u.s. wants it see continue to happen. but now, of massive intelligence gathering effort to keep eyes on the peninsula and make sure wolf that there are no surprises. >> barbara starr reporting for us from the ramstein air base in germany. there are a nearly south korean troops, a million north korean

troops along the dmz with 30,000 american soldiers in between. who is this young man who may, repeat, may, have his finger on north korea's nuclear trigger? the we have to admit, brent, we don't flow a lot about there young guy. >> there is really very little known about the man who is suddenly north korean's leader. what is concerning is that a 20-something with seemingly very little military or political experience now leads a country that may soon have a deliverable nuclear weapon. >> kim jong il tried to repair his son and country for this day. the elder kim had elevated profile of his junger son, kim jong un last year and gave him a rather drastic promotion in the army. >> he spent no time in the military before his promotion last year.

>> he as far as we know he was not, and he was promoted to four star general. >> what kim didn't do was prepare everyone for his own sudden death. now he said we are left with very little to go on with kim jong-un, partly because he is in his late 20s and had such a short apprenticeship for the his position, compared the 20 years his father had preparing for the job. jong un went to boarding school and knows german. he is a fan of james bond. there apparently weren't many options for the dynasty. i asked cha why kim jong il didn't tap his oldest son. >> with the lead irship, because of his lifestyle he tends to be a bit after playboy and likes to

gamble. keeps a condo. >> according to analysts reported on wikileaks, the second esdest son was too afem nant to be a strong leader so it fell to the younger son. plans were for chang song tech to be a key player behind the scenes while the younger kim solidifies his leadership. analysts say there are rumblings that his sister is sick. >> are we seeing the end of the kim dynasty? >> i think we are. you know, i think that this regime is really on its last legs. i could not imagine a more difficult scenario to affect a leadership transition than what we are seeing today. >> what cha is really worried about right now are what we casually sometimes refer to as loose nukes. nothing casual about it though. with so much uncertainty at the

top, he says some rogue elements, military or otherwise, might take control of the country's nuclear program, wolf. that's what everyone is really worried about right now. >> inside of the government, outside the government, that nuclear program is at a critical stage right now. >> they are far ahead of iran right now. experts say they conducted two underground tests of nuclear explosive devices. they have enough plutonium they say, to make between six and 12 nuclear bombs. they have figured outweigh,er with told, to miniaturize the bombs and put them on warheads. we don't know if they have done that yet. but now they are at the mercy of their -- there's a 20-something young man leading a military with that in its arsenal. that's pretty frightening. >> we don't know if he is 27, 28, 29. >> i think he is in his late 20s. >> that's what we think. we will have more on north korea coming up. i was in north korea, bit way, one year ago exactly. last december. well take a look back at what i

saw, plus my impressions of kim jong-un. can judges be arrested and even impeached? je jeffrey toobin is standing by to talk about so called activist judges. plus jon huntsman, former u.s. ambassador to china, he has some unique insight into north korea. well talk about that and a whole lot more. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." yeah, i'm married. does it matter?

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jack cafferty is here with the cafferty file.

jack? >> will the dome democrats come to face off in november? a lot of people think that gingrich would be easier for obama it beat. they might be very wrong. the latest poll has rommy even gingrich tied. one political adviser says, quote, romney is playing not to lose and gingrich thinks he has nothing to to lose. gingrich has no campaign infrastructure, infa dell its, three marriages plus a $1.6 million he took pr freddie mac. but when you get past all of that, and a lot of people have, what you have is a more dangerous, talented and unpredictable rival than romney. politico points to several reasons why obama shouldn't take gingrich for granted. for one, gingrich is very smart. while romney is no dummy, gingrich knows his stuff and he has risen to the pack mostly based on his dominant debate

performances. he even offered to debate president obama saying the president could use a teleprompter. next, gingrich leads romney in support from self-described conservatives. and gingrich has the ability to reach out to the gop's wealthy donors while still taking swipes at washington. then there's newt's mouth. republicans love the way he attacks president obama. that's true. there's always the chance he could go off the rails, go too far, come off his arrogant or self destruct. finally gingrich would be harder on target or medicare immigration since policies are more moderate than romneys. here is the question this hour, should president obama be more afraid of newt gingrich or mitt romney? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post on my blog or go to the situation's facebook page. >> he could surprise a lot of

folks and win the iowa yuck cause. that would shake things up. >> indeed. gingrich is sparking uproar as he targets what he calls the activists judges. he says they should be forced to describe rulings to congress. listen to this exchange with bob shafer yesterday on face the nation. >> one of the things you say is that if you don't like what a court has done, that congress should subpoena the judge and bring him before congress and hold a congressional hearing. some people say that is unconstitutional. but i will let that go for a minute. i will ask from a practical standpoint, how would you enforce that? would you send the capitol please down to arrest him? >> if you had to. or instruct the justice department to send the u.s. marshall. >> all right. that's causing a big uproar out there. discuss with our seen yar legal

analyst jeffrey toobin, who wrote a best selling book on supreme court. a lot of folks say it shocking what gingrich is saying, but does he have a point? >> no, he doesn't have a point. and it is shocking. george bush's attorney general, every democrat in the united states, this goes against american constitutional law since 1803. in 1803, chief justice john marshall said, it is the duty of the courts to decide what the law is. the courts have the last word. you don't like it, you can change the constitution. you can have new justices on the supreme court. you can even impeach a federal judge. but you cannot haul them in and beat them up in front after congressional committee. you cannot use the police to intimidate judges. that is something that is fundamentally against american constitutional history. >> he says, what if there is an outrageous decision that, the scott case for example. how do you deal with that, from

his perspective. >> that's why you have appeals courts. if a decision is really outrageous, i think we all have enough confidence in our circuit courts of pales or united states supreme court to overturn it. and if that decision is upheld on appeal, too bad. that's how our system works. the courts get the last word. and i think the idea that a political candidate, you know, there's a wide range of views about american cons fusional law. is the healthcare law cons fusional or not? there are arguments on both sides. but the yied that the supreme court doesn't have the last word, that is well outside the range of reasonable opinion. >> we don't know how ska leah or chief justice would react it what he is prose proposing. but when they heart newt gingrich say what he said yesterday on face the nation, they are conservative, forget about the liberal ones,

conservative justices, what do you think their reaction is? >> i don't presume to speak for the chief justice or justice scalia, but it is not just left right. there is the notion of the conservative as someone who believes under stability, tradition. that is certainly true of the chief justice and justice scalia. we have had the same constitutional system in place since the 18th century, since 1803, almost the 18th century. the judges have had the last word. i think of all aspects, that one worked pretty well. it there have been terrible decisions. there's been dred scott, there's been the japanese encampment in world war ii. but by and large the courts get it right. and to think that the political candidate can threaten the freedom of judges would be outside the realm of the reasonable and possible by any justice on the supreme court.

>> jeffrey toobin, thanks very much. >> so the very delicate, dangerous situation in north korea, the current political candidate jon huntsman and arrest allegations against iraq's vice president. does this signal a deepening crisis in baghdad. as, or annuit. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa.

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there are new very disturbing signs of the political crisis. mary, what is going on? >> wolf, an arrest warrant is issued for airaq's sunni vice president who accused of organizing bomb attacks. officials show so-called confession videos of alleged terrorist who say they were following orders from their vice president. earlier the president's office warned of false confessions. this is a powerful political block made up primarily of sunni raw makers. they are threatening the coalition government, shiite

prime minister, malachi. a saudi prince is buying a $300 million stake in twitter. his investment sp. his firm says quote it will fund manically change the media landscape. he owns media including time warner. he is said to be worth $21 billion. the company has been struggling to stay afloat since sold to general motors. a deal fell through leading to a major cash flow crisis with the company. saab still maintains a network of u.s. dealerships but sales sagged severely if recent years. wolf? mary, thank you. . jon huntsman is former u.s.

ambassador to china and has unique insight into the situation there. we will talk about that. . . president presidential campaign and a whole lot more is coming up next. ♪ making your way in the world today ♪ ♪ takes everything you've got ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪

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he probably has the keenest insight into china. we are talking about jon huntsman. he joins us from new hampshire. he is former u.s. bam bass dor

to china which closely monitors what is going on in north korea. we will talk about the primary in new hampshire coming up. but if you were president of the united states right now, and you would like to be president of the united states, kim jong il dies, would you formally express condolences to the people of north korea? >> i think i would, to the people of north korea, because the people of north korea are not responsible for the suffering by their dictator leaders. it's not an awful regime. now two generations worth and they are getting ready to move into the third. have you 25 million people there, wolf. you have seen it firsthand. 8 million of them suffer and starve during the very cold winter months. they are punished unnecessarily. it is a brutal dictatorship and it ought to change. my hunch is that jim jong-un being as inexperienced as he is, will do what he can do win over

the central military kpligs, which he will have to do to solidify power. that means he will shoot a short range ballistic missile into the yellow sea. it means he will engage into saber rattling and do the crazy antics that north korea has become famous for. p will create a very uncertainty environment through not only the entire peninsula but throughout northeast asia, which by the way, is one of our largest trading regions. there is instability in north korea it sometimes impedes free flow willing commerce and trade. which means it may hinder experts going into japan, korea, china, russia. and we should do everything we can to promote stability. >> what about fear, and some an mists expressed it to me over the last 24 hours, that the whole place could unravel in coming weeks, months and that nuclear arsenal, all those ar a

artillery weapons and who knows what could happen. how worried should we be about this scenario? >> 24 is an uncertain period. kim jung-un has been part this for a year. he is increasingly received the titles of power. they named him claireman of the funeral committee which would suggest to everybody that he is a top dog in the country. but now he is standing alone. and now the generals are going to look at him differently and the parties leaders will look at him differently. he will have to win them over all again. and that means there should be no blue sky between the united states and south korea. there should be no blue sky between the united states and japan. and we should be in consultations with china, and we should be in consultationes with the russians as well. in collecting as much information as we can about how things are playing out internally in this very murky environment. the chinese have an interest and

it is the same as ours. we want stability in the region wp. we are trading and trying to prosper from economic siltations there. any disruption in north korea will immediately cause a spill-over, perhaps millions of refugees, across the river and beyond, into the region which is, you know, a very prosperous economic region for the chinese and that would be a disastrous outcome. >> they have a huge interest as well. ron paul, your republican presidential rival, he says get all 28,000 troops out of there. he has said this forever. get them out of korea, japan, germany, not only iraq and afghanistan. would it be wise to remove the 28,000 forces from south korea? >> no, they should stay there because we have an immediate danger and threat coming out of north korea. it is a nuclear country. we don't understand them. people don't know where the nukes are. people don't understand the

command and control governance system of those weapons. until there is stability, which is to say, until there is a nuclear free korean peninsula, which should be our goal wib think they play a very important role. we have a couple very important allies in the the neighborhood in south korea and japan. not to mention that northeast asia is soon to be home to about 20% of world's gdp. that means a huge amount of economic opportunity for the united states. our experts go there. those skpoerts exports create jobs here on home front. >> let me go to the middle east right now, egypt. i don't know if you saw this video but it is so troubling to me. a young woman beaten. look at this picture. they ripped off her clothes. these ajipegyptian police and t literally started stomping on her stomach and dragged her away. this picture has become an

iconic picture. if you were president right few, what would do you about what is happening on streets of cairo. god knows it is pretty ugly. >> we have values in this country and we should be standing tall for the values that we project to the rest of the world. i among them, liberty, democracy and rights of the people. the president should be using the pulpit in terms of that. the winds will blow in the middle east and we should be careful about who we line up with. it could take years before we know what countries and pluks will be. wh whether it is tunisia, or egypt. and we have israel. and we have to remind them what it is like to be a friend and ally with the united states. that to me is concern number one. because the region needs know that we are tight with israel, that we have security and economic, values driven with

israel. i believe when that is strong, it has the ability to impact the broader region as well. >> do you have confidence that president obama is dolg the right thing? knows what he is dolg as far as korean peninsula is concerned? what is your state of confidence in the president's national security right now? >> he is surrounded by people who presumably know the issues well. there is no reason the president would know it well. he hasn't lived there. i have lived there four times and i know it well. it is better when have you a president who has a very well defined and engrained view based upon time on the ground, based upon being a practitioner. that is something i believe to this race that very unique. no other republican in the race has any kind of foreign policy experience at all. maybe legislating a few things in washington but that doesn't count. being a practitioner of foreign policy out in the field is increasingly important for the united states. >> your numbers are going up in

new hampshire. you are spending almost all of your time in new hampshire. moderate republicans and independents who can vote in new hampshire, why should they vote four as opposed to romney? >> i'm a consistent conservative, wolf. i'm a consistent conservative who has not waivered, not phlegm flopped, not waffled. they might not agree with everything i've done but i have a solid core. and i'm the only one on the race who is going to be able to tackle our two deficits that we suffer from now as a people. one is an economic deficit. we all know we can launch an industrial revolution in this country based upon china going down and allowing us to pick up that deficit but the second deficit is as corrosive, it is called a trust deficit. we need a president who can say, congress, you need term limits. congress, we will close the revolving door that allows members of congress to float out to become lobbyists. millions of dollars leading to

cynicism among the american people. we need a president willing to do go to wall street and say we have banks too big to fail. we have to do something that b that. it isn't fair we are setting ourselves up as a country and people for more dabailouts. we have been there, we have done that, we're not doing it any more. >> governor huntsman, thanks for coming in. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> newt gingrich, a new poll shows many republicanes with strong negative feelings about him. i will ask what it means, in today's strategy stegs. that's coming up? as glimpse into north korea. ill give you an inside look at my trip last year and just how isolated the next generation of leaders are from the rest of the world. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

joining us right now is mary matalin and paul i have gala. mary, these new numbers in the poll, you have add chance it look at them. overall romney and gingrich nationally among republicans and independent, who lean republican, are in both 28%. that's very close.

obviously. but look at this. we ask the question, which of the candidates would not be be able to support under any circumstances. repeat the phrase, any circumstances. ron paul, 43% of republicans say they cannot support ron paul under any circumstances. bachmann, 42%. perry, 33. newt gingrich, 34. mitt romney only 16% said they couldn't support him under any circumstances. that's pretty good number for mitt romney, don't you think, mary? >> yes. ironically, romney is coming out of the mitt-ness protection program really helped him. what conservatives are looking for is not just fidelity for conservative em but someone who can might, be an advocate. since he has been making appearances outside the debate form and showed such aggressive fight capacity against newt gingrich and he, even though he didn't win the tea party straw

poll over the weekend, he is speaking language that conservatives want to hear and he is putting up a good fight. so i think it is -- i don't want to say any big momentum or anything like that, but it is gooding in rom flee's direction right now, and that's what you just read, he could go the distance now. >> paul, you are a tough strategist you so you will appreciate this. this is just my interpretation. maybe others as well. newt gingrich is being hammered, in iowa as well. negative ads from the super pac, ron paul, michele bachmann. he is trying to take the high road. he is not responding. trying to be mr., you know, diplomacy if you will, he is not fighting back. that seems to be hurting him. what do you think? >> yeah, of all of newt

gingrich's problems in his long public career as a politician, being too filled with what shakespeare called the milk of human kindness has never been one of tlem. this is a supremely mean person. yet now, he is wimping out. he had that one moment where he went right back at mitt rom romney. pointing out that he had made millions off of middle class people, which he did. then walk aid way from it. but i think newt was on to something. i think mitt rom flee, there is a big story in the associated press today about scores and scores of people in south caroline why and new hampshire, two early primary states, that romney laid off while he took millions of dollars in payments from those companies. i think that would have been a fruitful line of attack from newt. i guess he is at classic bully. didn't want to take on anyone richer or bigger than him. but he is hell on poor people. >> is that a mistake, mary?

>> he didn't have the money. he couldn't do it on paid media. but the reason he ascend as precipitously as he did, goes to my previous point, which is we just want to take it to obama. he was doing the best job add vericating conservative policies in contest with the failed obama policy. he is not mean, he is very aggressive. he knows how to turn a phrase. he is every bit as good as my friend, paul, and on the edge of speaking about it but i think romney, and this is the obama attack on romney, he has been doing a stellar job walking through what he did in the free enterprise system and as he did in the debate, comparing it to what obama did and gm for instance. bring that one on. we are looking all these debates and all these attacks on all of the candidates keep the sharp relief and contrast this this bigger election cycle will be fought over. we like it.

>> one quick thought from each of you and make it quick on the stalemate in congress right now and payroll tax plan, if there is no deal and taxes go up for 160 million americans starting january 1st and that is very possible. who wins that debate, dem krts or republicans? >> middle class americans lose to begin with but they know the house republicans in particular. senate republicans have voted to continue this tax cut for a couple of months. then work out details to continue it for another year. house republicans apparently tonight are going to kill that tax cut for the middle class. republicans are going it raise taxes on middle class and every american needs to to know that. they'll wake up a hang over on new year's day and not just from all of the shiny black beers i will drink. >> mary? >> i think paul already has a hangover. the house hasn't passed the extension for a year. there a dysfunctional senate that passed it for two months,

which cannot even be implemented. so and john boehner, particular, the big victor in this latest sker mish. >> thanks very, very much. we will talk more about the payroll tax and eric can't or cantor will join us in the next hour. and in north korea, i was there exactly one year ago. what i could tell, that happens now that kim jong il is dead. [ cherie ] i always had a job, ever since i was fourteen. i could not make working and going to school work. it was not until the university of phoenix that i was able to work full-time, be a mom, and go to school. the opportunits that i had at the university of phoenix, dealing wh profesonals teaching things that they were doing every day,

got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu.

it was the assignment very few journalists get to experience. kwun wun yeone year ago i was accompanied bill richard sochb, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. he was seeking to ease tensions between north and south korea, and the united states in the process as well. here is some of what i saw in the one of the world's most mysterious countries.

>> huge pictures of the late great leader, and his son, kim jong il were all over the place. i didn't see pictures of the next expected leader, kim jong un. children were in classrooms with overcoats. so cold, you can see their breath. went to the national library where they have a lot of less than state of the art commuters. they have music rooms with old school boom boxes and head sets. folks could listen to their favorites. i was surprised by some of them. >> we are here in the library in north korea. listening on a big box over here to kenny rogers. >> how are you? >> i had some fun when i saw the north korean girls national ice hockey team jogging outside the

national ice rink. >> we're running. we're running. everybody is looking good. >> i couldn't help but join them. with my hand-held camera shooting away. let's talk a little bit about that. brian, you have been doing work on north korea. your piece on kim jung un earlier. i was impressed by that small group, they were not isolated. they know what was going on in the united states. some served at the north korean mission to the united nations in new york. some served at peopembassies. they were not isolated. >> that's what serve talking about. who are the people who will be around kim jong il. who are the elites surrounding them. your impression was, they were not isolated.

i think you mentioned, they had done their homework. they knew a lot about what was going on in western hpolitics. who were these people that would influence them? as you say, isolation, they are not all together militaryistic, but they are a militaryistic society. >> we are talking about a small percentage of people. the 99.9%, if they have a television, and most don't, or radio, is official north korean state propaganda. that's all they get. these great tributes to their dear leader who now passed away obviously. but that's all they see. they have no clue. there is no social media. no free access, unrestricted access to the internet. no twitter, no facebook, nothing like that. >> when you came with cameras, even running along with the hockey team, which is great moment, but just filming

everyday life, were they uptight or on their best behavior? did you sense something in the body lang wachblgt everyday person you were filming on street? >> they wouldn't talk to you unless they were authorized to talk to you. remember, i was restricted every place i went. i had what we called minders. north korean officials. they would determine who could speak with us, who couldn't speak with us. where we could go. where we couldn't go. they watched us very, very carefully. it is not a free society by any means. they had certain individuals they would let you talk to. there would be translators and stuff like that. it is a very different assignment than most places in the world. >> i was jealous. >> yeah. well, it was a good trip. i would like to go back at some point and see what happens. thank you very much. there is much more coming up. in the next hour, i will be joined live by bill richardson, former u.s. ambassador of the u.n. my travel partner to north korea last year. i will ask him just how dangerous the current situation, that's coming up in the next hour. >> first, jack cafferty want to

flow, should president obama be more afraid of newt gingrich or mitt romney? that's his question. your answers, that's ahead. granting you wireless access to files on your home computer from almost anywhere. 4g lte equipped to pull pictures, music, and movies. all at mind-melting speeds. powered by verizon, this droid is too powerful to fall into the wrong hands.

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jack? >> shoes president obama be more afraid of newt gingrich or mitt romney? randy writes, neither. wall street is betting on obama which means he is is a shoe-in. the only one he might be afraid of is romney because he is cut right from the inherrens cloth. there are four other candidates still in the race, at least one of whom stands it make a huge showing in the iowa caucuses. i won't mention his name because that alone could keep this letter from being read on the air. his name is ron paul. jim writes from colorado. neither one of them. president obama needs to worry br mor about the general electorate and convincing us he is still the right guy of the job. jaime says, you have been quite the sell out lately jack. your love for gingrich seems to be fake and your bosses are obviously forcing you to stop talking about ron paul.

to answer the question that obama shouldn't be afraid of either of those flip-flopping scoundrels. for the record, my bosses don't force me to talk about anything here. that's why i like working here. ron paul is the only trust worthy candidate available. obama needs to be afraid of dr. paul. and jim in new jersey rights, if i were president obama i would sleep like a baby. mitt rom flee is a former massachusetts governor who makes michael due kakus look presidential. if you want to read more on this go to my blog, cnn.com slash caffertyfile or go to the cnn facebook page. wolf? >> all right. thank you. you are in "the situation room." mitt romney's gangs against newt

gingrich in our new poll. the republican presidential race is uncertain as of. just two weeks before the first votes. the u.s. meanwhile is keeping close watch on north korea's military after kim jong il's death. this hour, the risk of nuclear confrontation as kim's youngest son supposedly getting ready to take power. i'll talk about that and more with the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., bill richardson. and the house and senate dig themselves deeper into a bitter standoff over extending the payroll tax cut as we wait for a new vote on the house majority leader eric cantor if there is any hope for a break through. we want to welcome our viewers from the united states and around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. in a race that seems one front runter after another, the rise and fall. the republican contest, is

apparently tightening again. our new poll, a national poll, it shows newt gingrich and mitt romney are dead even. cnn's jim acosta is following the field for us. jim, what's the latest? >> it is hard to call either a leader. newt gingrich is seeing his numbers floating back to earth where romney and paul are waiting for him. the political season greetings for newt gingrich are anything but merry. >> on tvs across early voting states, anti-gingrich attack ads appear to be damaging his candidacy. according to the latest cnn orc poll. republicans across the country, gingrich and romney are tied up at 28%. a steep drop for the former speaker compared to national polls earlier this month. our poll finds romney is far

more likeable with gingrich tied with michele bachmann. but the former speaker is seen as the strongest leader. that may explain why gingrich is sticking to his pledge to stay positive and that extends to this ad from a pro gingrich pack. a risky bet when romney hit gingrich on his ties to freddie mac. >> they say wow, this really isn't the guy that would represent our views. >> thank you very much. >> gingrich was signing books in virginia. he did defend his record but on a conference call with supporters. >> that's an area where people said things that are wildly inaccurate. >> the other candidate grading on gingrich? ron paul. a fund-raising machine that raked in $4 million over the weekend. his views may be controversial but listen to what the paul gets bashing among all things, past you'rized milk.

>> i would like to restore your right to drink raw milk any time you want to. >> the crowd laps it up. for perry, that is hard to follow. >> wall street bailout is the single biggest act of theft in american history. and newt and mitt, they both were for it. >> better than the reception bachmann is getting from gay rights groups hounding her events. she and her husband caught on camera questioning alfred kensy, an off message moment. >> i wonder if you are aware that 10% of the pop population, and you have 28 children, 2.8 of those kids are gay. >> she is not listening to me. >> that i according to the kensy report. >> nice to meet you. >> that is has been a myth for many years. >> with two weeks to go to the iowa caucuses, it could all

change if again in our latest cnn orc poll, 56% say they may change their mind. that's a lot of conflicted voters with not much time left on the clock. >> not much time. tomorrow, two weeks to iowa. thanks, jim acosta. some candidates are weighing in on the death of the north korean leader and are turning up the heat on president obama. romney issuing a statement saying kim's death represent an opportunity for america to work with our friend to turn north korea off the treacherous course it is on and ensure security in the region. america must show leadership at this time. this from gingrich a little while ago. >> i take very seriously the kind of dictatorship we are seeing in north korea. the truth is, we have no idea what this success will be like. whether the regime will become more open or become even more dangerous. >> the white house says it doesn't have any additional concerns about instability in

north korea. right now because of kim jong il's death. but the communist regime remains a very dangerous nuclear power with a million man army. u.s. officials are looking for any hint of those weapons might be used by kim's apparent successor his youngest son, kim jong un. >> he has been taking a closer look at north korea's nuclear arsenal, and what are you finding out, chris? >> wolf, right now the u.s. military is trying to keep a very close watch on what is going on in north korea. they haven't seen any move amount that would cause alarm at this point. but again, nuclear capability is the watch word here. >> nuclear watch dogs believe north korea's arsenal includes six to 12 nuclear weapons and 600 to 800 short to medium range ballistic missiles. but they probably would have some difficulty meeting that

with a nuclear warhead at this point. >> in other words, without a reliable delivery system, like a missile, the north korean nuclear weapons are like a bomb in the base many. north korea has twice tested a long-range missile capable of flying more than 4,000 miles. althrow it showed progress from 2006 to 2009, it is flown successfully. the more immediate danger is the regime's willingness to sell nuclear technology to u.s. adversaries. >> we don't wanted adversary to be saned by nuclear technology. >> the first nuclear inspector in iraq says a number of countries invested a lot of time and effort to slow down iran's development. >> i think north korea heard a message from governments that don't mess with that. that that is a red line and if you are caught helping iran's nuclear program in a significant way, it could really spell much

worse situation for north korea. >> cnn also spoke with an analyst who negotiated with north korea during the clinton administration. he says the idea of the regime sharing nuclear material is not far fetched. >> remember, the north korean's actually are in the process building a plutonium reactor in syria secretly. which the israelis destroyed. but that is not a good indicator of how the north koreans understand the consequences of such activity. >> in fact, just six weeks ago, some senior u.s. military officials in the region said that north koreans told them that they believe nomar gadhafi's regime was able to be out offed in libya precisely because it banded its wmd program. if that's the north korean's thinking it makes trusting in

negotiationes it curtail their nuclear program very problematic. wolf? >> chris lawrence, one quick question, is the u.s. military very worried about the sudden transition in north korea? how it eventually will play out? >> well, the man who runs u.s. forces, korea, warned the united states senate back over the summer, saying kim jong il's death could cause north korea to become more dangerous. he said that because he felt that the son had to sort of prove his credibility with the military hard liners in north korea. he said that combined with the son's youth and inexperience could lead to possible miscalculations. so he said in the short term, the son taking power does raise some possible questions. >> there are a lot of nervousness right now. chris, thank you very much. i had a rare opportunity to experience firsthand what life is like in north korea. certainly what it was like under

kim jong il's ruling. you may remember i went there exactly a year ago with governor bill richardson. he was there under the tension that was pretty serious at the time. it was a tinder box. we were able to get in some sightseeing. take a look at this. >> it takes forever to get to the underground station. i never saw such long escalators. even longer than the one at washington, d.c. plet metro. so deep that it doubles as underground bunker. >> it is deep underground. you saw how long it takes to get through the escalators. really, really deep underground. patriotic pictures all over the place. >> do people pay? >> yes. >> how do they -- i didn't see -- >> how much is that in u.s.? >> it's very little. it is about 101 to a dollar.

>> so a nickel. >> but most people use six-month passes. >> so that's just a dollar. >> a dollar to basically ride for six months. >> that's right. >> that's a pretty good deal. we are moving now. it's very smooth. >> just ahead, i will be speaking with bill richards about his experiences. he travelled to north korea on several occasions. we will also talk about the diplomatic challenges for the united states after kim jong il's death. stand by for this interview. in a world where news travels in an instant, it took more than 48 hours to learn of kim jong il's death. that's because north korea is shrouded no seek racy, basically cut off from other nations. this shows north korea effectively blacked out while surrounding countries are lit up with electricity. north korea has only four state run television stations. no independent media at all.

only about 2% of north koreans, mostly military, communist leadership, they have cell phone. there is no internet access except for government agencies and few hotels. certainly not unrestricted internet access. newt gingrich is in iowa right now, trying to get some of his lost momentum back. we will have the latest on the strategy and lead off caucus. plus, i'll speak with the house majority leader eric cantor and we will talk about the standoff over extending the payroll tax cu cut bp

jack cafferty is here with the cafferty file. jack? >> voting on 2012 elections hasn't even begun yet. most americans wish the whole thing were already over. a new usa gallup poll shows 70% of those surveyed say they cannot wait for the campaign to be over. that compares to just 26% who say they can't wait for it to start. that would be wolf and his guys. people living in 12 of the key swing states, colorado, florida, pennsylvania, places like that, are dreading the election even more. three quarters of them say they can't wait for it to be over. probably because they will be the target of even more tv ads, mailers, calls et cetera than the rest of us will. this negative attitude crosses party lines. 67% of democrats, 67% of republicans say they can't wait for the campaign to be over. when it comes to age, senior citizens are the least likely to look forward to the upcoming

campaign. probably because they have seen enough of these rodeos to last a lifetime. gallup polsters suggest there are several reasons why americans are so negative about this presidential election. for one, the campaigns last too long. republicans have been at this already for most of this year and the general election is still 11 months away. and politics and politicians in general are just not very popular it put it mildly. a recent poll found less than half of americans say they trust the people who either hold or are running for political office. and finally, with the campaign come all those negative ads, even though they work, a lot of people just don't like them. it's not just the ads, for the next 11 months, get ready. we will breath, eat and sleep this campaign. so here is the question, do you wish the election were already over? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog on

post a comment on the situation's room facebook page. >> a lot of people say they don't want anything to do with it. >> they're wrong. i love this stuff. >> i know. >> this is democracy under action, jack. >> i know. but it is long. >> you are a political news junky. >> you probably like this stuff more than most. >> all right, jack. thanks very much. let's get back to the tremendous uncertainly right now consuming north korea, following the death of the aillusive lead kim jong il. exactly one year ago i covered a trip there, spending six days in pyongyang. governor, thanks for coming in. first, how dangerous do you think the korean peninsula is, can w this transition, right now.

>> it is always dangerous on the korean peninsula. it is a tinder box. it is dangerous because of the uncertainty. if you recall, wolf, when we were there, the north koreans started to move in the right direction. they didn't go after the south koreans. now there are initiatives where the united states and north koreans met to talk about food aid, to talk about the remains of our servicemen from the korean war. there's been talks between the north and the south koreans. a little bit of a thawing. so if you look at it that way, that doesn't mean that they are moving totally in the right direction. the uncertainty with a death of kim jong il, that's the danger. what happens next. my view is, that there's a succession that's going on and the issue is going to be how will the succession be viewed by the key players there. and you know who they are. the north korean military. >> kim jong-un, the son in his late 20s.

you didn't meet with him the last time you were there, but i assume you have never met with him. he never served a a day in the military but they made him a fur star general. does this young man have any credibility? >> well, that's the issue. will the north koreans accept him, the military. i think the population will because they are schooled in the cult of personality. they did it with father, kim jong il, the succession with him 17 years in power. the difference though, is that right now, this young man is, he isn't even 30. he never met foreign officials. he didn't serve in the military. we know very little about him. we do know he went to a western school in switzerland and he may speak some languages. that's good. but the issue is going to be, he won't have the same power as his father, kim jong il. i think you will see some of the

military, the military commanders, some of the seen jurors civilian leadership, not just help him out with leadership, but you will see them playing a stronger role, certainly with a son so untested right now. >> john mccain, ranking member of the senate armed services committee, issued a statement saying among other things web said this. i can only express satisfaction that the dear heard, jim jong ill, is joining gadhafi, bin laden, hitler and stalin, in a warm corner of hell. what do you think of that reaction? >> well, you know, i like senator mccain. but i think what we need to do and the obama administration is doing the right thing. they are cool. we don't want to provoke the north koreans right now. i think what we want is for instance, north koreans in the next ten days, pretty much decided ton let foreigners in

of, covering the funeral period, which i think will be december 28th. i think we need to let them handle their succession. not provoke them. talk about engaging them. i have always felt, as you know, that it is better to bring them in to talk to them, dialogue, engagement, rather than isolate them. when you isolate them, they become more unpredictable, more unrational. i think talking to them, continuing the six party talks objective, which we don't have yet, giving them food aid p.m. people are starving there. you were there. you saw the people in very, very bad shape on a humanitarian basis, i think the international community can be helpful. and moderate them. move them in the right direction. move them towards engagement. the chinese can do this. but i think the international community, united nations, world food programme. united states. that food aid is good.

and for the hundreds and thousands of veterans out there, families that want to recover the remains of american soldiers in korea, let's engage them on that. the north koreans as you recall, when you were there, they were toward turn over some remains. i think that's a good way to bring us closer together, but with skepticism. you can never approach these guys with the view that they're going to do good, you know. they are very unpredictable. you don't know what they will do next. >> we were showing viewers of when we were there, exactly year ago in north korea. when you were meeting with their chief nuclear negotiator. >> if you were advising president obama right now, would you advise him to issue a formal statement of condolences to the north korean people? maybe even try to send someone to the funeral?

>> i don't think anyone will be allowed to go, wolf. i think it'll be a north korean funeral. >> you don't think anyone from china will go? >> what i would advise -- i don't think so. but i know some friend that were going, their visit was sudden pli stopped. in fact, tony who was with us, who has been advising me for years, was going to go in. but because of the period of mourning, is not going to go. i would advise the president and he hasn't asked for my advice, but i would say he is doing the right thing right now. calm. statements that basically call for stability in the peninsula. japanese engagement. i think secretary clinton meeting with asian allies in washington. sending statements of moderation, of concern. i think that's the right way to go. >> so should he issue a statement? should the united states express condolences to the people of

north korea? remember how the u.s. reacted in 1994. when couple il sung died and clinton at the time was in office. >> well, because for humanitarian reasons, i think at the appropriate time, a positive statement, condolence statement is appropriate. i don't know how the white house will handle that. but again, i think what's more important than that, is basically to continue a dialogue. now you got to wait and see what they are going to do. you want to just kind of read the tea leavees a little bit more. i think a key is going to be those officials that you and i met that were in my delegation, engaging on nuclear issues. on military issues. whether those moderates that weer is sewe perceived as more moderates will stay on in the regime.

i think that genuinely, someone with experience in dealing with the united states and six-party talks, will stay. but a lot of that is uncertain tp. >> bill richardson, let us know if you are going back to north korea any time soon. i know in april was the celebration for the birth of kim il sung. if you are heading over there, let us know. >> all right. thank you. >> newt gingrich with a fierce new controversy saying certain judges should be impeached. plus, gingrich is locked in a dead heat with mitt romney in our latest poll. we are talking the ups and downs of the presidential contenders and what it could mean for the critical iowa caucuses nust j two weeks, two weeks, from tomorrow. ♪

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just the other day, mitt romney was acknowledging newt gingrich was the front-runner but now the two front runners

are dead even. in our grand new poll, republicans nationwide, brian todd has been taking a closer look at wild ups and downs for the race for the white house even before the voting begins. brian? >> wolf, some genuine excitement in our research poll as we head into iowa. it is not just a dead heat in terms of margin for error. ron paul coming in third. at 14%, still hanging in. he may surge in iowa because he has such a strong ground there. michele bachmann still at 8%. perry a significant drop since summer and fall. you really have to measure as far as the way it tracks. and we will do that right now. newt gingrich looking at how far he has come since may. we will do all these candidates since may. he starts out low at a little over 10%. look at surge for newt gingrich.

starting in the fall and heading into now. mitt romney, he starts fairly high in may and june but dips, then maintains and now partly maybe as a result of his attacks on newt gingrich and attacks of others on newt gingrich we has pulled into others heading into the caucuses. very exciting race between the two of them. we will look at other can dates. since the month of may wp ron paul again starting out not too high in the polls about 15%. but he doesn't lose much ground either. then surges again starting in about mid november to now. and again with the strong ground game he certainly is someone to watch there. look at michele bachmann pb again, maintaining a fairly even keel. doesn't head up enough in the polls. does go up a little bit in november. then tracks downward as she is a little less than 10% in polls we go into iowa.

we will look at rim rick perry. that may be the biggest story as far as rise and fall after candidate populate july, early august, really up there. because of other gaffs on the campaign trail, a real downward spiral since about september to now, rick perry not in very good shape as we head into iowa. again rick perry losing ground just since the last cnn opinion research corporation poll that we did a little while ago. last month dropping four percentage points wib think is what it is, to his place now. so gingrich, romney, dead heat as we go into iowa. very exciting days in the next couple of weeks going into the caucuses. >> thanks very much. brian todd reporting for us. those are national polls. much more important what is going on in states right now. especially in iowa. gingrich is honing his message working on his ground game. only 15 days until the caucuses take place. our chief political analyst is joining us now from davenport

iowa. newt gingrich just held an event there. what is his message gloria? maybe coming out of that. >> exactly wolf. >> i just asked newt gingrich about that a few minutes guy here in davenport. i it was interesting because he didn't deny that his numbers are heading in the wrong direction. but he had very clear explanation about why. can you tell us why -- >> watch tv here for two days. you had all sorts of people and all sorts of these super facts. who have consistently been running negative ads. you run enough negative ads, it

goes down. >> so he says i have no money, i will go positive. he has no choice but to go positive. he raised about $500,000 over the weekend. he told us today that he is going to start something called ask newt. which will essentially be town halls that people can call in, talk to newt gingrich, he will answer all of the negative ads, he says. so it is kind of campaigning in a cheaper way. but it allows him to answer his critics. >> he was also confronted with more questiones about that freddie mac consulting business that had. he made about $1.6 million. what did he say? >> well here is the interesting point. he was asked about this by one of the people at this event. and he made it very clear for the first time that he personally did not earn $1.6 million. he said in fact, he probably only earned about $35,000 a year from freddie mac. but then he went on to say,

wolf, that that was less than i was making per speech. so i'm not, at the time, i'm not sure how that went over with an iowa audience. because they are kind of less lisenning and thinkin35,000 is speech, remember he said he was making about 60,000 a speech. >> what about the 1.5 million still out there? >> well it went to his office. it went for overhead. it went to other people. he said he personally is 35,000. >> there is a winning issue.

>> right they do see it as a big issue here in iowa. >> he was talking about the judges. listen to this. >> here is the question. are judges above the law? are judges in a position where they dictate to the president and they dictate to the congress and the founding fathers answered it very clearly. the judicial branch is the weakest of the three and would never pick a fight with the president and congress because it would inevitableably lose it. you have since 1958 the court has said we are supreme. we are the last word. that's bologna. >> wolf, i was speaking to a bunch of people out in the audience here today. they are with newt gingrich on this. this is a state where three states supreme court justices who were pro gay marriage were

voted out of office. they don't like judicial activists. this is a good issue for newt gingrich in this state. >> gloria, in davenport iowa. she is reporting this week from iowa. thanks very much. please be sure to all of us for the service votes and republican contest on january 3, anything can happen in iowa or coverage of the iowa caucuses. by the way on january 3 we start 7 p.m. eastern. >> it is a crime police are calling as bad as it gets. just ahead. a dramatic development in the case of an elderly woman burned to death in an elevator. plus, reports of a rising death toll in egypt. just months after the historic revolution. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation,

not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

horrific story ib deed. an elderly woman burned to death in an elevator. mary snow has been monstering this story and other top stories in "the situation room." what is going on, mary. >> the suspect is charged with murder an arson and held without bail. the incident which took place over the weekend here in new york was caught on surveillance cameras. authorities say he sprayed a 73-year-old woman with a flammable liquid then lit a molotov cocktail. the suspect turned himself into police claiming the woman owed him $2,000. the death toll is rising and hundredors are believed to be in the square.

as vicious clashes between protesters and security forceas enter a fourth day. the former dissident playwright who helped topple communism in eastern europe died at age 75. he spent years in prison before emerging to end it in 1989 revolution. wolf? >> mary, thanks very much. just want wle it looks like congress might agree on extending the payroll tax, there might be a hang-up. stay with us, you're in "the situation room."

go to capitol hill right now. the the house is moving toward a vote on a senate approved plan that includes a two-month extension. the speaker john boehner, now urging house republicans to vote no, saying a one-year extension is better. this appears to be another step backward least in another long ugly fight for a tax cut due to expire in just 12 days.

let's talk about this with eric cantor. he is joining us from capitol hill. is there going to be a deal or in deal. will 160 million americans lose that payroll tax cut come january 1st or are you ready it make deal some. >> you know, i hope not. the house is committed to continuing to work until congress approves a year-long guarantee to the working people of this country that they are not going to have a tax increase. the two-month plan passed by the senate has now been deemed unworkable by the national payroll reporting consortium to kent up to capitol hill this letter. basically saying the senate plan will provide more confusion and hurt workers. i don't think anybody thinks it is a good way to implement policy on a two-month basis. again, that's what we are saying. it is time for the senate to come back it town, do what the president said we should be doing. which is to provide the year-long guarantee when taxes

won't go up with working people. >> here is what the senate majority leader harry reid said, and i'll put it up on the screen. he said when we met last week, speaker boehner requested that mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate, and i worked out a compromise. neither side got what we wanted and we forked a middle ground by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. here is the question. isn't two months better than nothing? >> well, we can do better than two months. i don't think there's anybody who said that two-month tax policy or healthcare policy is the way we ought to go. we ka k do this. when negotiations broke off, wolf, you know, we were close. and i think that we can do this. and the working people in this country deserve more. they deserve better. they deserve to be going into christmas in the new year knowing full well their taxes are not going to go up and them the entire year. that's what the president has asked for and that's what we and the congress and house are

committed to doing is to working together to reach the compromise that will guarantee that people are not going to see their taxes go up for the full year. >> but if you need more time to finesse to work out a deal, instead of letting it lapse on january 1st, continue the negotiations for another two months. it simply continues the tax cut which is already in place. it's been in place over this past year. >> we can do this, wolf. we can do this. we've got two weeks to do it and again we don't need any more uncertainty. all sides i think agree that a year-long tax guarantee that taxes don't go up is much better and again you see the people in the business saying that this plan that's passed by the senate, 16-day plan is just unworkable. not atenable position to take. i think that harry reid will have to call the senate back it get down to work with us so we can resolve this for the working families and taxpayers of the country. and i think we will all be better off. >> the senate republicans, a

whole bunch of them are coming out strongly against you, the republican leadership, in the house. scott brown republican senator from massachusetts, said this, the house republicans plan to scud el the deal to help middle class family says irresponsible and wrong. i appreciate the effort to extend measures for a full year but a two-month extension is a good deal when it means we avoid jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of american families. that republican senator scott brown. what do you want to say to senator brown. >> i think you also see brown coming together in congress committee and working out differences. i think that's all we're asking. no one is saying my way or the highway, we are saying, he can can do this. we really can. we shouldn't be going on vacation or taking holiday here until we get the work done for the people of this country. and i think there is pretty much agreement that one year can be done. we don't need to be governing in two-month increments.

people can't live their lives like that. small business can't. working people can't. families have got to know what their tax liability is. let's go ahead and remove the uncertainty. let's provide what it is the working people of this country need. enough is enough, wolf. and i think we can get this done. >> i want to put up on the screen what's at stake. a lot of viewers may be confused right now. 160 million people stand it lose if you don't get the job done by december 31st. if you make $35,000 aier you have to pay additional $700. 50,000, additional dlb 1,000 to the government. 75 thousand, $1500. 90,000, $1800. you make 106,000, you pay extra $2100. if you make 110,000, you pay maximum $2300. that's a lot of money. >> wolf, no one want the taxes to go into effect. that's what we are talking about. no one does. if the senate doesn't come back,

if the senate doesn't come back into town, they will have a lot of answering to do to the taxpayers of this country. i think what you will see tonight is a rejection of the senate position because we know it's unworkable. and we've got a better way and we are asking the senate to come sit down, let's talk and get this straight so the american people and small businesses can know what their tax situation is next year and be guaranteed the taxes will not go up. >> in the cvs poll that came out and another another gallup poll, they asked about the approval of congress. you think congress is doing a good job or bad job. approval number is only 11%, mr. heard, only 11% of the american public approve of the job that congress is doing. what does that say to you? >> do you blame them? here you've got the white house, the senate, dem krts and republicans and have you us tht house saying that we all feel

that a year's extension of the payroll tax holiday is where we should go yet you have senate passing 60-day version and leaving town. i mean, do you blame the people for sitting there scratching their heads, wondering what's going on in washington? that's what we've got to end, wolf. we've got to start working together and really showing the people that we get it. they're tired of hearing reasons why things can't be done in washington. and we are saying that we are willing to work together to try and produce results. that's exactly what the discussion and vote tonight is about in the house. >> we hope that you guys, house and senate democrats, republicans, independents, can get the job done between now and december 31st. a lot of folks will be hurting if you don't. good luck, mr. leader. >> thank you, mr. wolf. >> jack cafferty is asking, do you wish the election was already over? that's coming up next fm

the question is do you wish the election were already over? given opportunity inspiring selection of candidates including the incouple bent, there is little reason to be enthusiastic about the 2012 election. at the same time, wishing it were already over would be

wishing away 11 months of life. there is no guarantee regardless of who wins, that the situation in washington will be any better in january of 2013 than it is in december of 2011. kevin in california writes, nowadays the election is never over. politics has degraded to a state of constant campaigning. this is one of the traits of an empire in decline. a state of constant political upheaval. tom writes, jack spare a thought. without them, they would have to start working for a living. jeff writes, i'm looking forward the next december when we start with the 2016 campaign. dave in florida says the answer to this is a perennial question. a thousand times yes. i'll never understand the undying passion for politics. it is a pointless waste of time since the beginning of the krflt it doesn't mat here gets in. they will screw the middle class

regardless of any promised they made or what they claimed to stand for. randy writes, no, i wish for my powerball numbers to hit. wasting a wish on a fixed wrestling type illusion like politics is a wasted wish. no, it is the best sitcom on television. you never know who will play the buffoon next. if you want to watch it, go to my website or on our facebook page. >> thank you. thanks very much. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪

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not everyone is mourning the death of north korea's kim jong-il. >> reporter: when he became the dearly departed, don't expect too much respect. ♪ the wicked witch is dead >> reporter: contrast that with how the news was delivered by a north korean anchor near tears. the same anchor who delivered the news when kim jong-il's father died 17 years earlier. in the wefl west he was seen as

danger tator with an ego as big as his glasses. his many pairs of glasses. he was most famously important trade by the creators of south paw, feeding u.n. inspector hands blitz to his pet. and mournfully as he made plans to destroy the world. ♪ i'm so lonely so lonely ♪ so lonely and sad alone >> those who portrayed him as a rapper were not alone. ♪ i'm only 5'3" but nobody gone a [ bleep ] with me ♪ >> reporter: kim jong-il impersonator even delivered the weather. >> good time always. beach party. >> reporter: and while in the west he is mocked, north korea is being rocked by grief.

if you can believe the video. state tv showed north koreans crying, slapping the ground. a skeptic posted, i've seen better acting from paris hilton. if it was acting, there was plenty of it. inside homes. in front of murals. before statues. but the tears were more likely to be from laughter in the west over lists circulating like the top ten strange facts about kim jong-il. hard to confirm facts. such as he once attempted to breed giant rabbits to alleviate famine and he claimed to have invented the hamburger. people don't usually speak ill of the dead unless your name is kim jong-il. ♪ it seems like no one takes me seriously ♪ >> reporter: cnn, new york.